Ben = 8

How can this be? I have got to figure out how to stop this kid from growing up.

Ben is kind. He is earnest, smart (smart, smart), athletic, creative, and compassionate. A defining moment for Ben came when he was two years old. Josh was a very new baby at that time and still a novelty. One day I had just changed his diaper and laid him on a blanket on the floor while I went to wash my hands. From the moment I put him there he started crying. I wasn't too concerned (you know...third born...he'll be fine if he cries for 30 seconds). But Ben was concerned. As I came back into the room I found little Ben standing over our crying baby just looking down at him and crying big alligator tears of his own. That image has come back in to my mind time and time again in the years since. When I see him being protective of his younger siblings, comforting them, or giving up something to make someone else happy. He has that ability to feel what others feel, I think. He's a really great friend to have, and the kind of son that makes me proud every day.

For his birthday he requested a Yoda cake. Hmmm. I did not have as much time to devote as I would have liked. I warned him it may or may not look very much like Yoda but promised I'd do my best and it would be delicious no matter what.